diff --git a/sys/vm/uma.h b/sys/vm/uma.h
index 21c61214315d..6ac78ef5cfcf 100644
--- a/sys/vm/uma.h
+++ b/sys/vm/uma.h
@@ -262,7 +262,7 @@ uma_zone_t uma_zcache_create(char *name, int size, uma_ctor ctor, uma_dtor dtor,
 					 * information in the vm_page.
 					 */
 #define	UMA_ZONE_SECONDARY	0x0200	/* Zone is a Secondary Zone */
-#define	UMA_ZONE_REFCNT		0x0400	/* Allocate refcnts in slabs */
+/*				0x0400	   Unused */
 #define	UMA_ZONE_MAXBUCKET	0x0800	/* Use largest buckets */
 #define	UMA_ZONE_CACHESPREAD	0x1000	/*
 					 * Spread memory start locations across
@@ -287,7 +287,7 @@ uma_zone_t uma_zcache_create(char *name, int size, uma_ctor ctor, uma_dtor dtor,
  */
 #define	UMA_ZONE_INHERIT						\
     (UMA_ZONE_OFFPAGE | UMA_ZONE_MALLOC | UMA_ZONE_NOFREE |		\
-    UMA_ZONE_HASH | UMA_ZONE_REFCNT | UMA_ZONE_VTOSLAB | UMA_ZONE_PCPU)
+    UMA_ZONE_HASH | UMA_ZONE_VTOSLAB | UMA_ZONE_PCPU)
 
 /* Definitions for align */
 #define UMA_ALIGN_PTR	(sizeof(void *) - 1)	/* Alignment fit for ptr */
@@ -622,21 +622,6 @@ void uma_zone_set_freef(uma_zone_t zone, uma_free freef);
  */
 void uma_prealloc(uma_zone_t zone, int itemcnt);
 
-/*
- * Used to lookup the reference counter allocated for an item
- * from a UMA_ZONE_REFCNT zone.  For UMA_ZONE_REFCNT zones,
- * reference counters are allocated for items and stored in
- * the underlying slab header.
- *
- * Arguments:
- *	zone  The UMA_ZONE_REFCNT zone to which the item belongs.
- *	item  The address of the item for which we want a refcnt.
- *
- * Returns:
- *	A pointer to a uint32_t reference counter.
- */
-uint32_t *uma_find_refcnt(uma_zone_t zone, void *item);
-
 /*
  * Used to determine if a fixed-size zone is exhausted.
  *
diff --git a/sys/vm/uma_core.c b/sys/vm/uma_core.c
index 0d45046e7e51..262f8b0877bb 100644
--- a/sys/vm/uma_core.c
+++ b/sys/vm/uma_core.c
@@ -112,7 +112,6 @@ static uma_zone_t zones = &masterzone_z;
 
 /* This is the zone from which all of uma_slab_t's are allocated. */
 static uma_zone_t slabzone;
-static uma_zone_t slabrefzone;	/* With refcounters (for UMA_ZONE_REFCNT) */
 
 /*
  * The initial hash tables come out of this zone so they can be allocated
@@ -154,12 +153,6 @@ static int booted = 0;
 #define	UMA_STARTUP	1
 #define	UMA_STARTUP2	2
 
-/*
- * Only mbuf clusters use ref zones.  Just provide enough references
- * to support the one user.  New code should not use the ref facility.
- */
-static const u_int uma_max_ipers_ref = PAGE_SIZE / MCLBYTES;
-
 /*
  * This is the handle used to schedule events that need to happen
  * outside of the allocation fast path.
@@ -951,7 +944,6 @@ zone_drain(uma_zone_t zone)
 static uma_slab_t
 keg_alloc_slab(uma_keg_t keg, uma_zone_t zone, int wait)
 {
-	uma_slabrefcnt_t slabref;
 	uma_alloc allocf;
 	uma_slab_t slab;
 	uint8_t *mem;
@@ -1014,11 +1006,6 @@ keg_alloc_slab(uma_keg_t keg, uma_zone_t zone, int wait)
 #ifdef INVARIANTS
 	BIT_ZERO(SLAB_SETSIZE, &slab->us_debugfree);
 #endif
-	if (keg->uk_flags & UMA_ZONE_REFCNT) {
-		slabref = (uma_slabrefcnt_t)slab;
-		for (i = 0; i < keg->uk_ipers; i++)
-			slabref->us_refcnt[i] = 0;
-	}
 
 	if (keg->uk_init != NULL) {
 		for (i = 0; i < keg->uk_ipers; i++)
@@ -1266,9 +1253,6 @@ keg_small_init(uma_keg_t keg)
 	    keg->uk_rsize < sizeof(struct pcpu),
 	    ("%s: size %u too large", __func__, keg->uk_rsize));
 
-	if (keg->uk_flags & UMA_ZONE_REFCNT)
-		rsize += sizeof(uint32_t);
-
 	if (keg->uk_flags & UMA_ZONE_OFFPAGE)
 		shsize = 0;
 	else 
@@ -1356,8 +1340,6 @@ keg_large_init(uma_keg_t keg)
 	/* Check whether we have enough space to not do OFFPAGE. */
 	if ((keg->uk_flags & UMA_ZONE_OFFPAGE) == 0) {
 		shsize = sizeof(struct uma_slab);
-		if (keg->uk_flags & UMA_ZONE_REFCNT)
-			shsize += keg->uk_ipers * sizeof(uint32_t);
 		if (shsize & UMA_ALIGN_PTR)
 			shsize = (shsize & ~UMA_ALIGN_PTR) +
 			    (UMA_ALIGN_PTR + 1);
@@ -1446,7 +1428,7 @@ keg_ctor(void *mem, int size, void *udata, int flags)
 	if (arg->flags & UMA_ZONE_ZINIT)
 		keg->uk_init = zero_init;
 
-	if (arg->flags & UMA_ZONE_REFCNT || arg->flags & UMA_ZONE_MALLOC)
+	if (arg->flags & UMA_ZONE_MALLOC)
 		keg->uk_flags |= UMA_ZONE_VTOSLAB;
 
 	if (arg->flags & UMA_ZONE_PCPU)
@@ -1458,13 +1440,6 @@ keg_ctor(void *mem, int size, void *udata, int flags)
 
 	if (keg->uk_flags & UMA_ZONE_CACHESPREAD) {
 		keg_cachespread_init(keg);
-	} else if (keg->uk_flags & UMA_ZONE_REFCNT) {
-		if (keg->uk_size >
-		    (UMA_SLAB_SIZE - sizeof(struct uma_slab_refcnt) -
-		    sizeof(uint32_t)))
-			keg_large_init(keg);
-		else
-			keg_small_init(keg);
 	} else {
 		if (keg->uk_size > (UMA_SLAB_SIZE - sizeof(struct uma_slab)))
 			keg_large_init(keg);
@@ -1472,15 +1447,8 @@ keg_ctor(void *mem, int size, void *udata, int flags)
 			keg_small_init(keg);
 	}
 
-	if (keg->uk_flags & UMA_ZONE_OFFPAGE) {
-		if (keg->uk_flags & UMA_ZONE_REFCNT) {
-			if (keg->uk_ipers > uma_max_ipers_ref)
-				panic("Too many ref items per zone: %d > %d\n",
-				    keg->uk_ipers, uma_max_ipers_ref);
-			keg->uk_slabzone = slabrefzone;
-		} else
-			keg->uk_slabzone = slabzone;
-	}
+	if (keg->uk_flags & UMA_ZONE_OFFPAGE)
+		keg->uk_slabzone = slabzone;
 
 	/*
 	 * If we haven't booted yet we need allocations to go through the
@@ -1517,10 +1485,6 @@ keg_ctor(void *mem, int size, void *udata, int flags)
 		/* Size of the slab struct and free list */
 		totsize = sizeof(struct uma_slab);
 
-		/* Size of the reference counts. */
-		if (keg->uk_flags & UMA_ZONE_REFCNT)
-			totsize += keg->uk_ipers * sizeof(uint32_t);
-
 		if (totsize & UMA_ALIGN_PTR)
 			totsize = (totsize & ~UMA_ALIGN_PTR) +
 			    (UMA_ALIGN_PTR + 1);
@@ -1534,8 +1498,6 @@ keg_ctor(void *mem, int size, void *udata, int flags)
 		 * sure here anyway.
 		 */
 		totsize = keg->uk_pgoff + sizeof(struct uma_slab);
-		if (keg->uk_flags & UMA_ZONE_REFCNT)
-			totsize += keg->uk_ipers * sizeof(uint32_t);
 		if (totsize > PAGE_SIZE * keg->uk_ppera) {
 			printf("zone %s ipers %d rsize %d size %d\n",
 			    zone->uz_name, keg->uk_ipers, keg->uk_rsize,
@@ -1797,7 +1759,6 @@ uma_startup(void *bootmem, int boot_pages)
 {
 	struct uma_zctor_args args;
 	uma_slab_t slab;
-	u_int slabsize;
 	int i;
 
 #ifdef UMA_DEBUG
@@ -1856,18 +1817,6 @@ uma_startup(void *bootmem, int boot_pages)
 				NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL,
 				UMA_ALIGN_PTR, UMA_ZFLAG_INTERNAL);
 
-	/*
-	 * We also create a zone for the bigger slabs with reference
-	 * counts in them, to accomodate UMA_ZONE_REFCNT zones.
-	 */
-	slabsize = sizeof(struct uma_slab_refcnt);
-	slabsize += uma_max_ipers_ref * sizeof(uint32_t);
-	slabrefzone = uma_zcreate("UMA RCntSlabs",
-				  slabsize,
-				  NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL,
-				  UMA_ALIGN_PTR,
-				  UMA_ZFLAG_INTERNAL);
-
 	hashzone = uma_zcreate("UMA Hash",
 	    sizeof(struct slabhead *) * UMA_HASH_SIZE_INIT,
 	    NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL,
@@ -2090,14 +2039,7 @@ uma_zsecond_add(uma_zone_t zone, uma_zone_t master)
 		error = EINVAL;
 		goto out;
 	}
-	/*
-	 * Both must either be refcnt, or not be refcnt.
-	 */
-	if ((zone->uz_flags & UMA_ZONE_REFCNT) !=
-	    (master->uz_flags & UMA_ZONE_REFCNT)) {
-		error = EINVAL;
-		goto out;
-	}
+
 	/*
 	 * The underlying object must be the same size.  rsize
 	 * may be different.
@@ -3219,26 +3161,6 @@ uma_prealloc(uma_zone_t zone, int items)
 	KEG_UNLOCK(keg);
 }
 
-/* See uma.h */
-uint32_t *
-uma_find_refcnt(uma_zone_t zone, void *item)
-{
-	uma_slabrefcnt_t slabref;
-	uma_slab_t slab;
-	uma_keg_t keg;
-	uint32_t *refcnt;
-	int idx;
-
-	slab = vtoslab((vm_offset_t)item & (~UMA_SLAB_MASK));
-	slabref = (uma_slabrefcnt_t)slab;
-	keg = slab->us_keg;
-	KASSERT(keg->uk_flags & UMA_ZONE_REFCNT,
-	    ("uma_find_refcnt(): zone possibly not UMA_ZONE_REFCNT"));
-	idx = ((uintptr_t)item - (uintptr_t)slab->us_data) / keg->uk_rsize;
-	refcnt = &slabref->us_refcnt[idx];
-	return refcnt;
-}
-
 /* See uma.h */
 static void
 uma_reclaim_locked(bool kmem_danger)
@@ -3260,7 +3182,6 @@ uma_reclaim_locked(bool kmem_danger)
 	 * zones are drained.  We have to do the same for buckets.
 	 */
 	zone_drain(slabzone);
-	zone_drain(slabrefzone);
 	bucket_zone_drain();
 }
 
diff --git a/sys/vm/uma_int.h b/sys/vm/uma_int.h
index 132cc63e7538..c4235ce20a64 100644
--- a/sys/vm/uma_int.h
+++ b/sys/vm/uma_int.h
@@ -250,17 +250,7 @@ struct uma_slab {
 #define	us_link	us_type._us_link
 #define	us_size	us_type._us_size
 
-/*
- * The slab structure for UMA_ZONE_REFCNT zones for whose items we
- * maintain reference counters in the slab for.
- */
-struct uma_slab_refcnt {
-	struct uma_slab		us_head;	/* slab header data */
-	uint32_t		us_refcnt[0];	/* Actually larger. */
-};
-
 typedef struct uma_slab * uma_slab_t;
-typedef struct uma_slab_refcnt * uma_slabrefcnt_t;
 typedef uma_slab_t (*uma_slaballoc)(uma_zone_t, uma_keg_t, int);
 
 struct uma_klink {